Learn to Let Go
by Raeven Belmonte
Summary: Demigods, portals to other worlds, and lethal family problems. Kayleigh Montgomery wasn't sure why that bundle of madness decided to make its way to Earth, but it was something she and her friends had no choice but to get involved in. Besides, it's not every day you get to help a suspiciously attractive Thunder God through all that kind of drama. ThorxOC. Bad summary, sorry.
1. Chapter 1

_I know I'm always like_  
 _Telling everybody, "You don't gotta be a victim_  
 _Life ain't always fair, but hell is living in resentment_  
 _Choose redemption, your happy ending's up to you"_

-Learn to Let Go; **by Kesha**

* * *

 **10 Years Earlier**

* * *

"Kayleigh, I will ask you one more time - what did you do?" Mr. Haymond, the principal of Kayleigh's middle school, looked at the thirteen year old firmly. Sitting beside the young girl was her mother, Avery Ortiz. Avery had been called out of work because of an incident involving her daughter - a supposed "fight", though witnesses said that Kayleigh didn't even lift a finger against her assailant. The girl Kayleigh faced off with, Bianca Wilkerson, had been bullying Avery's daughter for quite some time, that was what Mr. Haymond had been told. Bianca tried starting something before first period, and that was when Kayleigh _attacked_. As far as anyone was concerned, whatever happened between the two girls before first period, resulted in Bianca needing to receive both medical and psychiatric attention. Mr. Haymond let out a sigh through his nose, his brown eyes flickering to Avery before glancing back at the young girl. "Do you understand what you did?" he asked, his tone clipped. "You put another student in the _hospital_. Whatever you did to Bianca Wilkerson, it is costing her and her family greatly."

"Kayleigh, if you don't say what you did...," Avery started, her voice sharp.

"She got scared." Kayleigh's voice caught the two adults off guard. "Bianca got scared, so I used it against her. I made her see things. A _lot_ of things. Did you know her father's an alcoholic? Or that her brother does heroin?" The girl's greenish brown eyes flickered between principal and mother. "That scares her. It really does. Her father gets violent when he's drunk, and her brother lashes out when he's high. Bianca's mother left when she was a baby, did you know that? Bianca's got a lot of anger towards her mother, so I used that against her, too. I didn't _do_ anything to her, except make her face her feelings."

Avery and Mr. Haymond looked at Kayleigh for a long moment. The statement alone was enough to have their own fear and uncertainty radiate off them in waves. Kayleigh could feel it, she could practically taste it. Her ability to sense the emotions - particularly fear and anger - came out of nowhere one day. It had been two weeks ago when the sensation arose. It was during lunch, when Kayleigh was talking to her friends Vicky and Shaun. The sensation hit her like a freight train, and it hadn't shut off since. It was like sensory overload, and most days the young girl found herself unable to really focus on anything else.

Anger and fear seemed to be the strongest emotions Kayleigh could sense. The others - happiness, sadness, loneliness, etc. - were less prominent, thereby less important in the eyes of the young girl. Kayleigh began using her ability to see what everyone's fear was, what made everyone mad. It was only until the confrontation with Bianca that she came to realize her power of emotional manipulation.

"I know that _you_ , Mr. Haymond, hold a great amount of resentment towards your estranged wife," Kayleigh said. "She cheated on you with your brother, and she filed for divorce not long after you found out. She moved in with him a week after, and from the looks of it, everything will be given to her once the divorce is finalized."

The principal's face paled, looking at the thirteen year old with an expression of true horror.

Kayleigh looked over at her mother. "I know you're scared of Ricki leaving you," she responded. "No one likes him, which makes you even more scared. You _want_ people to like him. But it's his personality, his overall attitude, that makes people hate him so much. He knows it, too. He doesn't like where he's at - forced to raise some woman's kids, who wants that? He's being held back, in his mind. There's so much he could be doing. Ricki's mad at you. He's mad at _us_ , your kids..."

"Kayleigh, that's enough," Mr. Haymond snapped. His voice was trembling slightly, the fear coming from him had thickened, and the young girl could practically see it coming off him.

"Why? You asked what I did." The young girl looked at her principal unblinkingly. "I demonstrated to you what I could do. At least, what I can partially do. Bianca was weak. So are you, and so is my mother. So is _everyone_." She pursed her lips. "Fear is common among everyone," she said quietly. "It's easy to manipulate if you know what to do. I don't know quite yet, but I'll get there."

* * *

 **Present Day**

* * *

It was definitely different, looking back to when she was a kid. Back when she was inexperienced. Kayleigh Montgomery, at thirteen, first came to realize she could manipulate emotions, her favorite being fear and anger. As it would turn out, that kind of ability had a name - illusion casting, because she could make one's deepest fears or angers come to life; she's even heard the term "hallucikinesis". Was that even a _word_? Just by saying the word, Kayleigh snickered a little. Hallucikinesis was certainly something she'd never heard before, but it was also a word she liked to associate herself with. To be able to make someone vividly hallucinate whatever emotion a memory was attached to made her feel a little giddy inside.

About four years after Kayleigh discovered her manipulative ability, she discovered her _telekinetic_ ability. In all honesty, the young girl felt as if it was too much, giving her telekinesis. Being able to stop everyone's emotions from overwhelming her was one thing, but having to teach herself to stop destroying everything without touching it was another. Unfortunately, the amount of time it had taken for Kayleigh to completely tune out the emotions that would rattle in her head took a toll on her. By the time she reached eighteen, she could partially _ignore_ the emotions. By twenty, she could tune them out somewhat, but it wasn't enough. She could still _feel_ them inside her, and it was driving her crazy - _literally_. Having to feel what everyone felt, having to see the memories _attached_ to those emotions, was causing Kayleigh's mental health to steadily deteriorate. She was finding it hard to differentiate between reality and memory. By the time she was twenty one, Kayleigh was admitted to a psychiatric ward. She considered herself a danger to herself and to others, so she stayed there for a year and a half, being stuffed with medication that didn't actually work. She had to pretend to be OK.

By the time Kayleigh was twenty three, she took a moment to really reflect on what was going on in her life. She had been discharged from the psych ward, she was weening herself off her medication. Kayleigh remembered, the day she caused Bianca Wilkerson to go to the hospital, her mother and Mr. Haymond decided it'd be best to have her removed from the school. Avery Ortiz thought that Kayleigh's behavior was disturbing enough to have her see a therapist, who believed that the young girl may have some kind of schizophrenia. Avery didn't want to believe it - how could Kayleigh be schizophrenic? She knew things no kid her age should know about. The therapist tried to rationalize it, tried coming up with explanations, but there was nothing about the diagnosis that made sense to Avery. But she went with it, she gave Kayleigh the medication but there was no improvement. By the time Kayleigh turned eighteen, she was kicked out of the house. Supposedly, Avery was tired of her eldest daughter "terrorizing" - both literally and figuratively - the family. Ricki Daniels, Avery's boyfriend, ended up leaving her because of his discomfort around Kayleigh. Keyleigh's younger siblings were scared to be near her without their mother present.

By eighteen, the young girl was trying to balance out her emotional manipulation plus her newfound ability of telekinesis. Being on the street, how was she supposed to do that? She had no idea what to do, no way of properly understanding what was wrong with her. When she was younger, Kayleigh thought of her abilities as some kind of gift, but as she grew older, she didn't see them that way anymore. Feeling what everyone was feeling, being unable to control her telekinesis - it was too much for her. At eighteen, Kayleigh did consider suicide. Just to make everything _stop_. She couldn't. She hated herself for months afterward.

By twenty, when she could partially tune out the emotions of others, Kayleigh did manage to get some control over her telekinesis - not a lot, but some. It was better than nothing, in her mind. It was progress. There were moments where, whenever Kayleigh found herself in a stressful situation, her telekinesis would explode and she'd damage whatever was in her vicinity. That only furthered her need to control herself.

At twenty three, after leaving the psych ward, once she was weened off her medication, Kayleigh started to really practice. She tried meditation to calm down the swirling emotions. She tried yoga to help with that plus the telekinesis. She tried becoming a vegetarian - anything that would help better herself physically and mentally. Kayleigh couldn't allow herself to be overtaken by her powers. She couldn't let them control her anymore.

Now, at twenty five, Kayleigh Montgomery was improving. Her mental health was still effected from her manipulative ability, but it wasn't _as_ bad as it once was. Her telekinesis was still under construction, but it was better than it was at eighteen. Kayleigh was going to do better for herself and everyone around her. She owed them that much.

* * *

 **(A/N):**

 **What'd you think of this chapter? Was it good? Was it bad? Was it meh? I know it may seem a bit rushed, or even a little sloppy, but - I don't know - this was kind of rolling around in my head for a bit so I decided to give it a try. Let me know if there's anything that needs improvement.**

 **MCU does not belong to me. I own Kayleigh + any other OCs I add to the story; and any subplots I put in.**

 **Constructive criticism is welcome.**

 **Thanks.**

 **Raeven Belmonte**


	2. Chapter 2

_"I may not be smart enough to know everything, but I'm not dumb enough to try anything."_

-Beast Boy; **from Teen Titans**

* * *

Life is a bitch. Plain and simple. Life knew exactly when to screw someone over, it knew the precise moment to make everything someone had built up come crashing down. Life didn't care about someone's social status, it didn't care about race or orientation. If something needed a big, dramatic twist, one could count on life to be there to cause it all. For Kayleigh, she experienced that on multiple occasions. The first had been when she sent Bianca Wilkerson to the hospital, causing Kayleigh to be withdrawn from her middle school. The second had been when she turned eighteen and her mother kicked her out. Having to live on the streets proved to have a level of trauma in the young girl's life - being diagnosed as a schizophrenic wasn't as bad as being homeless. The final had been being sent to a psychiatric ward. Kayleigh knew that being admitted was for her best interest, but she was terrified on what would happen. She assumed that all psych wards were filled with evil, hateful doctors and nurses like in movies or TV shows. Kayleigh assumed she'd be stuffed so full of medication she'd be a walking vegetable. The second part wasn't _entirely_ off. She'd been prescribed so many pills that some days felt more like dreams than reality. Which, in turn, made Kayleigh even worse, considering her powers.

There were a few good things that came out of Kayleigh's life. One of them had been being homeschooled. Once she had been taken out of her old middle school, it seemed as if Kayleigh had less things to overwhelm her - though her siblings, her mother, and Ricki did make it difficult to focus most days. Kayleigh's three younger siblings weren't comfortable enough to be around her when she was alone; Avery always had to be physically with them. It always made the young girl feel bad whenever her siblings refused to spend time with her; it made her feel like she was a freak. Avery and Ricki - Ricki for the most part - had been relatively open about their discomfort and displeasure of having the young girl hanging around the house so often. That was something Kayleigh didn't really understand, since her mother didn't want her to leave the house. At least not often. Ricki had expressed more than once that he didn't like Kayleigh being around, that he felt "unsettled" and "weird" around her. There were a few instances where Kayleigh had to refrain from messing around with her mother's former boyfriend - maybe pull out a bad memory or two, only to regret thinking it seconds later.

The only downside to being homeschooled was that Kayleigh finished middle school and high school later than she would've wanted. Avery had done her best to keep her daughter up-to-date on all the work and assignments and major tests, but she also had to keep up with her other kids and her job. That often meant that Kayleigh would be left alone to work on assignments, and it would take her a long time to get through them since she was technically self-teaching.

Another good thing that happened in her life was being able to figure out a way to finally control her powers. Well, not _completely_ control them, but have a foundation to go off of. Having some kind of foundation, something to help her improve herself mentally and physically, was something Kayleigh really wanted. Her powers were chipping away at her mind, making her lose herself. If she could hold on to whatever she had left of herself, then it'd be OK. _She'd_ be OK.

The final good thing was that Kayleigh actually managed to make friends. Kayleigh hadn't kept in contact with her old friends, Vicky and Shaun, so she had no idea what they were doing with their lives. Were they married? Did they have well paying jobs? Where did they live currently? Kayleigh didn't know. Everything kind of just...stopped between the three of them after the Bianca Wilkerson incident. After everything that happened, with Bianca and being removed from the school and then getting kicked out - it felt as if Kayleigh had no one to talk to. Her family wasn't comfortable to really be around her, so it wasn't like she could turn to them in any way to work through her troubles. But after she managed to get her life in order, Kayleigh decided that, without a solid home foundation, she'd just travel to wherever she wanted. She worked odd jobs here and there, earning enough money to travel. Kayleigh made sure to keep up with her meditation and yoga, she made sure she didn't waver from a healthy eating pattern - deciding vegetarianism would be the best course of action for her - and made sure that her powers were under control, not overwhelming her. So by her mid twenties, Kayleigh had traveled a great distance - starting from her home state of Louisiana all the way to New Mexico, to a small town called Puente Antiguo.

Puente Antiguo, from Kayleigh's understanding, was one of those towns that was so small, it didn't even earn a place on the map. Rarely any visitors or tourists came through, that was how unknown it was. Regardless of how well known it was, Puente Antiguo was a peaceful town nonetheless. The people who lived there were, for the most part, friendly; there wasn't much to do, but that didn't bother Kayleigh in the slightest. She'd be able to see what the town _could_ offer, then figure out what she intended to do during her stay. Thankfully, though, the only available job that Kayleigh could have, at a small diner called _Isabela's_. Run and owned by a woman named Isabela Alvarez, Kayleigh was fortunate enough that the diner's namesake was so generous. With a job out of the way, the only thing left to do was finding a place to live. That was where Erik Selvig came in. Selvig was a Norwegian professor and astrophysicist, an impressive enough feat on its own. But he was also generous, despite his no nonsense attitude. He took Kayleigh in after getting to know her a little. Kayleigh said she'd pay him back for his generosity, but he refused. Despite her wanting to repay him, Erik just wouldn't have it. Initially, Kayleigh was hoping to stay with the astrophysicist for only a couple weeks, until she had enough money saved, but then she met Jane Foster, another scientist. She was just as generous as Erik, but she had a fieriness to her that Kayleigh hadn't seen before. Then came Jane's assistant, Darcy Lewis. Darcy was in college for political science, and had a more laidback attitude compared to her companions.

Jane, Erik, and Darcy were, evidently, the first friends Kayleigh Montgomery had made in years.*

It was definitely an improvement, being able to make friends after so long. Kayleigh believed she'd do well on her own, not having to worry about whether she'd hurt someone or not. In Kayleigh's mind, she enjoyed being on her own, but the loneliness weighed on her from time to time. It was because of those three that kept Kayleigh from leaving. She wasn't about to abandon the first people in _years_ who showed her positive attention. They showed no visible sign of being scared of her; they weren't openly expressing their dislike of having her around - it was an obvious improvement from when she was little.

But those were only some of the good things that happened in Kayleigh's life. They didn't outweigh the bad things, they didn't make the bad parts of her life disappear. Just like the good parts of Kayleigh's life didn't make the bad things disappear. Kayleigh acknowledged that her life would always be filled with good and bad, but she just didn't know that her definition of "good" and "bad" would be broadened.

 _ **-LtLG-**_

"What's going on today?" Kayleigh looked between Erik and Jane expectantly. Jane had been bustling around her apartment like a chicken with its head cut off. In all honesty, Kayleigh had no idea what was causing her friend's frantic running around. Paperwork was strewn all over the countertops, notes and data were pinned all over her walls, cameras littered certain areas - Jane's apartment was the definition of a pig-sty. Kayleigh learned that not only was Jane dedicated to her work, but she was almost _obsessed_ when it came to her work. Everything had to be perfect, so Erik would go over every piece of data that was gathered. He'd check Jane's electronic data - since most of her contraptions were built by her - and all the paperwork data, plus anything caught on camera. She was very thorough.

For Kayleigh, she was very intimidated by her friend's obsessive behavior. Kayleigh never got a college education, mostly because she didn't have the money or the drive to go to college. Her mother wouldn't have helped her anyway - once Avery kicked her out, that was that. No contact between the two since, and that was something Kayleigh had to come to terms with.

Though a college education had never been in Kayleigh's future, that didn't mean she had any idea on what Erik, Jane, or Darcy were saying. Despite being a political science major, Darcy did have some _basic_ \- and Kayleigh understood it as very, very basic - understanding on how certain areas of astrophysics worked. Jane and Erik were specialized in that area, so that meant their entire world rotated around it. For Jane it did, anyway. Erik was there to make sure the young woman didn't do anything too reckless. Which Jane had a knack for doing. With all the technology she built, that also meant she had to put a lot of it to use. Which meant that she went out, bought a van, and attached a lot of her tech to that so she had ways of gathering data on the go. Lately, Jane had been researching what she called "atmospheric disturbances", so that meant a lot of late night searches and research gathering. For Kayleigh, she saw it more as Jane turning into a storm chaser. Any cloud that looked a bit odd, a duststorm that looked out of place, maybe the sky wasn't the right shade of blue at the right time of day - Jane Foster was there to collect data. It was exhausting.

But it was important, whatever it was Kayleigh's friend was trying to find.

"Not much," Erik sighed. "There's nothing really happening today..."

"...But that doesn't mean something _won't_ happen," Jane interrupted. "There's always a possibility..."

"Jane, we've been over this," the older man exclaimed. "We've checked all your devices, we've checked _everything_. There is no sign of any disturbances today."

"So if nothing's happening today," Kayleigh interrupted, "does that mean it's a relaxing day? Do we get to just...?"

"If there _is_ nothing happening today," Jane sighed, "then that means we should do a tech inspection." She looked between Erik and Kayleigh expectantly. Darcy was unavailable for the day, deciding to do homework instead of whatever it was Jane wanted. "Darcy's not going to be able to help us for today," Jane went on, "so that means we'll work even harder to ensure everything's running smoothly. I can't afford to have anything go wrong in case something happens."

A look of frustration swept across Erik's face. Kayleigh could sense that he was at his wit's end with Jane for the day, and she didn't blame him. The female scientist had a tendency to be overwhelming at times, unwilling to listen to anyone when she went into full scientist mode.

"Where do we start?" Kayleigh asked, hoping to distract herself from the emotions that were radiating off Erik. With that, Jane started listing off what she needed done.

* * *

 **(A/N):**

 **I know it's taken a bit for me to get this chapter up, but here it is. If you've got constructive criticism of any kind, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? That kind of stuff is important. Let me know what needs improvement and I'll do my best to make it better.**

 **MCU doesn't belong to me. I own my characters and my subplots.**

 **So I've heard that a new BLACK PANTHER trailer came out recently. I'm pretty excited for that! Also, how many of you are excited for THOR: RAGNAROK? If not excited, then how about mildly intrigued? I've never been a huge fan of the THOR movies - despite him Thor being one of my favorite characters - but I'm moderately excited to see where RAGNAROK goes. In all honesty, RAGNAROK gives me a GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY feel. They may not have the same soundtrack, but just the way the movie's being presented...I don't know, I'm kind of nerding right now. What do you guys think?**

 **Leave constructive criticism where you think it's needed.**

 **Thanks.**

 **Raeven Belmonte**


	3. Chapter 3

_It's not time to make a change_

 _Just relax, take it easy_  
 _You're still young, that's your fault_  
 _There's so much you have to know_  
 _Find a girl, settle down_  
 _If you want you can marry_  
 _Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy_

-Father and Son; **by Cat Stevens**

* * *

Jane had so many self-made electronics, that it took _hours_ to see if all of them were functioning properly. For every little device that Jane had, there was a special catalog book for. Does this machine work when this lever is pulled? Does _that_ machine work when those buttons are pushed or those nobs are turned? Does anything look out of place? How effective are they at the moment? Jane wanted everything to be _precise_. No mistakes, nothing out of place - all she wanted was absolute perfection. For Jane, her research was her world, it was everything she had to offer to the scientific community. She wanted to earn her mark, to make an impression on scientists who spent _decades_ working on their profession. Whatever it was Jane was looking for in those "atmospheric abnormalities", it was enough to drive her borderline _crazy_.

So Erik and Kayleigh helped Jane with checking her electronics - everything from laptops, to handheld cameras, to whatever she had attached to her van. Jane wanted everything to be checked, double checked, maybe even _triple_ checked. Everything had to run smoothly, no errors could be made in the checking process.

Kayleigh saw her friend's perfectionist attitude to be overwhelming at best. And that was saying it lightly. Jane's need to have every little thing working exactly the way it's supposed to is understandable, anyone would want their stuff to work at its full potential. But eating, dreaming, sleeping work was unhealthy. Unfortunately, there was no talking Jane out of that state of mind. She would do anything in her power to ensure that her research was completed, no matter what it took.

"How's everything looking?" The question snapped Kayleigh out of her thoughts. For the most part, things had been running smoothly. Every once in a while there'd be an occasional update on how things were going, but other than that, everything was done in silence. The only background noise would be the occasional clicking of a keyboard, or the sounds the machines made when turned on. Jane, after about two and a half hours of checking and rechecking her things, spoke up again, wanting to be re-updated on the progress.

"Everything's going fine," Erik responded. His tone was clipped, showing he was probably frustrated with how long it was taking.

"All your stuff seems fine," Kayleigh responded, "can we stop?"

A dry look was thrown Kayleigh's way. "Not now," she responded. "Not yet."

"Jane, we've checked _all_ of your machines," Erik exclaimed, throwing a sharp look the young woman's way. "There's no way anything got away from us."

Letting out an almost childish whine, Jane slumped her shoulders. "You don't understand, Erik," she said. "This is my life work! All of this stuff is _so_ important to me. I can't find stuff like this anywhere else."

" _You're_ not understanding what I'm telling you," the older man said firmly, his no-nonsense attitude making itself known. "You work us to the bone on your research, Jane. You're an _astrophysicist_ , not some kind of weatherman."

"All of this could be my breakthrough in the scientific community," Jane exclaimed. "I _need_ to have people understand what's causing these disturbances."

"I've gotta agree with Erik on this one." Kayleigh threw an apologetic look her friend's way. "While I enjoy some of the things we do together, you honestly can't expect me to be there for you at all hours of the night, right? We're humans, not machines."

"Biologically speaking, you're not even human." Jane's response sent a sting of pain in Kayleigh's chest. The nonchalant way she said it, how she dismissed it so easily, made Kayleigh feel almost self-conscious but also made her angry. It wasn't until recently that Kayleigh found out she was a mutant, not a human. Or, as she'd come to understand with more research, a "more advanced human being". There were some people who looked at the mutant community as the next step in human evolution, which didn't make sense to Kayleigh. A bunch of people with weird powers? How was that the next step in evolution? For Kayleigh, she didn't see her powers as some kind of evolutionary masterpiece, she saw them as a nuisance. A curse. Maybe those other people were experiencing something completely different from her.

"I think I'm done for today," Kayleigh responded, standing up from where she was working.

That was when the realization of what she said hit Jane. There were moments where the young astrophysicist didn't think before she acted or spoke. A lot of what she did tended to get on people's nerves, like it was currently doing to Erik and Kayleigh. Jane didn't really see how bothersome her behavior could be, which meant that whenever people disconnected themselves from her, it came off as a surprise. That also influenced Jane's love life, where previous partners just couldn't handle her intensity sometimes. How she'd spend days upon weeks upon months in her work and then wonder why her relationships failed. One relationship in particular was with Jane's ex-boyfriend, Donald Blake. Donald was a medic, and apparently he was "better with patients" than he was with his relationships. Put him and Jane together and it was bound to be a toxic mix.

Kayleigh had witnessed Jane's relationship with Donald fall apart, and it was brutal. They fought _constantly_ \- blaming each other for not being able to work anything out, blaming the other's job since it got in the way - just anything that could be used as blame was used as blame. After that, Jane would not go out with another person, dedicating herself full-time to her work.

It wasn't very surprising that, romantically speaking, Jane would end up alone. It _also_ wasn't surprising that, in regards to friends, Jane had very little. As far as Kayleigh was concerned, she, Darcy, and Erik were the most friends Jane experienced in her lifetime. And it was that comment, that nonchalant remark, about Kayleigh's mutation that just pushed the young woman a little further to where she didn't want to associate herself with the young astrophysicist.

"You _can't_ leave!" Jane exclaimed. "Look, I'm sorry. Just don't go. _Please_."

It didn't matter, what Jane Foster had to say. Kayleigh, with a pat on the arm as a sign of farewell to Erik, left Jane's apartment.

 _ **-LtLG-**_

To the scientific community, mutants were both fascinating _and_ unsettling. The fact that people were able to gain a wide variety of powers at any given point in their lives were bound to make ordinary humans a bit antsy. What if someone decided they'd use their powers for evil? World domination could easily be achieved if someone had strong enough abilities. Who knows what would happen then? Would mutants declare humans obsolete? How would the world function then? Questions like that were almost impossible to answer. And it was _because_ these answers were so difficult to answer that made people so unsettled. Would mutants create an uprising against humans? Would there be some all out war between humans and mutants?

Scientists did their best to understand the physiology of mutants, the _psychology_ \- whatever they could think of.

Later on, it was discovered that human males were the ones carrying the mutant gene. When men impregnated their wives, girlfriends, partners, etc., those mutant genes were often transferred to the fetus. Typically, upon the child entering puberty, that gene would activate which would lead to the child getting superhuman abilities. While puberty was a common factor in power awakening, it wasn't always the case. Some instances showed that, as young adults or even later in life, mutants would develop their abilities while under intense levels of stress. Whatever chemicals were released in a stressful situation triggered the gene and suddenly, people were facing either physical changes, mental changes, or both. Though not all children are born with the chance of becoming a mutant, it was still something to look out for.

Again, in regards to scientific discovery, it was found out that if a child's parents were both humans, the chances of the child becoming a mutant were very low. If one of the parents happened to be a mutant, their offspring had about a 50% chance of being one, as well. If _both_ parents were mutants, then the child had a higher chance of being one, too, but there was still the possibility of them being human. It all depended on genetic make up and probability, from what Kayleigh understood.

As far as Kayleigh was concerned, her mother was human. Her father left when she was an infant, so she didn't remember him all that well; but she could only assume he was human, as well. Avery Ortiz never mentioned Kayleigh's birth father after he left. All she'd say was that he was a deadbeat and poor excuse of a man. From what Kayleigh understood, her last name wasn't her father's last name, it was her maternal grandmother's maiden name. It didn't make much sense that she'd receive her _grandmother's_ last name instead of her mother's, but Kayleigh didn't want to make a fuss by questioning it.

"His life revolved more around his problems than the responsibilities it took to raise a child," Avery would exclaim. "He was a weak man. It's a good thing you don't have a role model like _him_ in your life, sweetie."

Those kinds of comments always made Kayleigh roll her eyes. Avery's definition of a "good role model" was always her, despite the fact that she couldn't hold down a romantic partner and had trouble finding stable jobs from time to time. Kayleigh couldn't count on both hands the amount of men her mother went through in the span of a _year_. Every time one left her, she'd find another one four months later, and then he'd leave and she'd find another one - it was a never ending cycle. In the end, Kayleigh learned to not get too attached to any of her mother's boyfriends, since they'd be gone in a few months anyway. Ricki managed to be one of Avery's longest partners in years, having been together for a year and a half. Previous to Ricki, another relationship that lasted longer than a few months was to a man named Lyle, whom Avery had dated for nine months. Lyle had been a good man. He worked as a lawyer, though he wasn't a successful one. Avery assumed that his job gave him a lot of money, but it didn't. He never won a single case, so he never got paid a lot.

But in regards to what her parents were, Kayleigh had concluded they had to be human, which meant that maybe a grandparent was a mutant. Or maybe Kayleigh's entire family was human and she was overthinking everything. She was allowing Jane's comment to get to her, though she felt that she had the right to be mad at Jane. It was those little things about the young scientist that seemed to make it hard to be around her.

How was Kayleigh supposed to deal with that?

* * *

 **(A/N):**

 **Maybe this wasn't my best chapter, but I tried my best to make it interesting, at least. So if you've got constructive criticism, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? I'd love to know what you guys think. If I'm getting canon characters wrong, let me know so I don't have to rewrite a bunch of chapters later on.**

 **MCU does not belong to me. All I own are my OCs and the subplots I put in.**

 **For anyone who's a fan of AMC's TWD, it's coming back, I believe, on the 22nd of this month! Considering that last season hadn't been the best, I'm hoping that this season will do a lot better. I'm excited to see all the communities fighting it out with Negan; but I'm still a bit upset that Glenn and Abraham aren't there anymore. They were both some of my favorite characters, so seeing them get killed last season was hard. Now I know that in the comics, Abraham doesn't get beat to death by Negan, but the fact that the show writers decided to make that how he dies was just too much. And Glenn's death was just as bad.**

 **I digress.**

 **Let me know if there's anything to improve on.**

 **Thanks.**

 **Raeven Belmonte**


	4. Chapter 4

_You're just a sad song with nothing to say_

 _About a life long wait for a hospital stay_  
 _And if you think that I'm wrong,_  
 _This never meant nothing to ya_

-Disenchanted; **by My Chemical Romance**

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 **(A/N):**

 **For one, I'm sorry it took so long to get this up. I know you guys were expecting a chapter, and I was trying my hardest to write one, but I've been so overwhelmed with so many things, that I just didn't have it in me to actually COMPLETE it. So, hopefully you guys can just be patient with me on that.**

 **On another note, just to help me go in a good direction, I'm allowing this author's note to be your way to give me constructive criticism. What should I improve on? Should I add some more detail to Kayleigh's relationship with Jane and the others? Should I take out any unnecessary detail about Kayleigh's backstory? You can leave a review or PM me with whatever thoughts you have.**

 **Again, I'm sorry this wasn't a chapter. But I'm giving you guys the opportunity to give me as much constructive criticism as you want! Hopefully you guys have some really insightful things to say about this story.**

 **Thanks a bunch.**

 **Raeven Belmonte**


	5. Chapter 5

_"Maybe if we started lookin' at what's the same, instead of lookin' at what's different... well who knows?"_

-Meowth; **from Pokémon: the First Movie — Mewtwo Strikes Back**

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Feeling very out of place was an emotion Kayleigh was familiar with. She felt it at home after being removed from school. Later, those feelings would develop into loneliness. That, too, became a very common emotion in Kayleigh's life. Every now and again she'd have moments of happiness or otherwise pleasant emotions, but the heavier moods of loneliness and being very out of place remained. It reminded Kayleigh that she was a mutant, that she'd never fit in with normal society. That was something the young woman wanted so desperately. She _wanted_ to fit in, to have people like her. But that was just too much sometimes. Her moving around so much made it difficult for her to make friends or even acquaintances. The day Kayleigh moved to Puente Antiguo, she did like the simple atmosphere, how small the town was. She could tell it wasn't commonly sought out by tourists, that it was left alone at the best of times. That was something Kayleigh loved. She didn't have to worry too much. And then she met Erik and the others and things seemed to be looking up. But the loneliness and out of place feeling returned.

Erik, Jane, and Darcy were scientists. Jane and Erik specialized in astrophysics while Darcy studied to be a political scientist. Kayleigh had a high school diploma. Erik was a seasoned scientist, having taught at university, his research in his field being widely studied by others. Kayleigh could create vivid hallucinations. Jane, like Erik, was an astrophysicist and also an astronomer, her intellect probably at the same level as Erik's. Kayleigh had been locked in a mental institution. The list could go on, honestly. For each achievement her friends had, she seemed to have some kind of downgrade. Kayleigh didn't see herself as smart or outgoing or adventurous, she saw herself as a mutant. A freak. Her mental health was on the verge of collapsing each time her powers were used. All because of her hallucikinesis. Being able to detect people's fears and angers made her mind go wild. She wouldn't be able to tell the difference between reality and memory. It felt like no one else understood what she was going through. Kayleigh wanted nothing more than to find someone who could understand her, but it wasn't easy. She'd never encountered another mutant — or, if she had, they did a good job at hiding their abilities.

Being back in Erik's apartment, after the situation with Jane, made Kayleigh remember just how overwhelming those emotions could become. Being so dismissively reminded of her mutation made her remind herself just how unnatural she was, how different their lives were. It made Kayleigh feel as though she had no place with them.

With a sigh, the twenty-five year old ran a hand through her hair. She had tried to do better for herself, to be the best person she could be. After everything that happened to her growing up, Kayleigh wanted to be able to experience a good life. While constantly moving around couldn't be categorized as a "good life", but it gave Kayleigh the chance to see different places, to experience different things. It served as a distraction and a way for her to learn. Those awful feelings had been pushed back to make room for other ones. It did seem to work. But there were moments. Those moments were the ones Kayleigh wasn't happy to recall. And, unfortunately, Kayleigh was experiencing another moment. Jane's words may have been harmless, but it still caused the twenty-five year old to feel unsavory emotions. And from Erik's lack of presence in his apartment, that meant he was either finishing his contribution with Jane or giving he a lecture. In all honesty, Kayleigh could have cared less. All she could hope for was that Erik wouldn't be back soon so she could calm herself down.

 _ **-LtLG-**_

Erik was very unhappy.* The way things had gone between Jane and Kayleigh left him feeling frustrated, maybe a little irritated. It wouldn't be a surprise the young mutant would be in a less than social mood when he got home, but he was planning on figuring out a way to fix things. Erik and Kayleigh had a very respectable relationship, and he knew that what Jane had said to her hit a personal chord. It was only common knowledge that Jane Foster had a bit of a dismissive, indifferent attitude to certain things. To her, it didn't seem like a big deal, but to everyone else, it could come off as offensive or even hurtful. For Kayleigh, the mention of her mutation brought on a lot of emotions, something Erik couldn't really understand. His grasp on the mutant community wasn't that good, and he knew that the twenty-five year old wouldn't be able to give definitive answers. Nevertheless, the older scientist was willing to do what he could for Kayleigh, despite the odds and differences they had.

So when he finally made it back to his apartment, he took notice on how quiet it was. If it hadn't been for seeing Kayleigh's belongings by the front door, Erik wouldn't have guessed she even made it back safely. In a moment's hesitation, it took the older man a moment to think about where his companion might be. She could either be in the kitchen, fixing herself some comfort food; or in her bedroom, hoping the seclusion would help her with her problems. If Kayleigh was in her bedroom, there was a high possibility she didn't want to be bothered. Her bedroom was where she dealt with all her private issues, something Erik respected.* Taking his shoes off, Selvig went to do a quick look-around, hoping to find Kayleigh _some_ where that wasn't her bedroom. When she was nowhere in sight, he let out a sigh and ran a hand over his face. Walking towards her room, he noticed how the door was shut. There were no sounds from the other end, which sent a wave of worry through his body. The first round of gentle knocking on the closed door seemed to intensify the quietness. It was unsettling, making Erik shift uncomfortably where he stood.

"Go away," Kayleigh called; her voice muffled from the door.

"It's me, Kay," Erik called. "Can I come in?"

"I'm trying to meditate."

"Look, I just want to talk about what Jane said earlier. I know it upset you."

"I'm really not in the mood for that right now."

There was another long pause. Erik tried to think of what to say next, hoping to convince the young woman to come out. Meditation seemed to be a key part of Kayleigh's life, that and yoga. Her healthy lifestyle was something Erik acknowledged and appreciated; but sometimes she used it solely for the purpose of solving her problems. Or, at the very least, _avoiding_ them. It was a more unhealthy side of Kayleigh's lifestyle.

"Look, I think it'd be best if we talk about this. It's not right to avoid your problems." Erik's voice was borderline pleading. It wasn't often that he'd _beg_ Kayleigh to talk to him about things, but he was at that point. He saw her expression change when Jane mentioned her mutant status, it was a sensitive subject. Jane may not understand it, Erik may not understand it fully either, but it still made Kayleigh feel horrible about herself. "Please, Kay?" he asked. It took a few minutes, but when Kayleigh's door opened, Erik let out a sigh of relief. Her expression was solemn, her eyes not meeting his. Once the matter has handled and taken care of, they could move forward from there.

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 **(A/N):**

 **I'm sorry for the wait on this chapter, life got away from me and I had put this at the bottom of my to-do list. If you see anything in this chapter that could use improvement, don't hesitate to let me know. I'm always a fan of constructive criticism!**

 **Nothing in the MCU belongs to me. All I own are my OCs and the subplots I put in. If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, PM me or leave a review.**

 **Thank you guys so much for supporting this story! Hopefully you're all having a wonderful New Year so far.**

 **Raeven Belmonte**


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